Americans infected with the coronavirus are still advised to follow the guidelines on isolation put in place in 2020 although there are calls for this to be changed. The rules on those in quarantine have been tweaked this month.

There has been a spike in COVID infections, which went to 126,967 new cases per day as of Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University—up from an average of over 70,000 new daily cases per day at the start of November.

Here are the latest guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on quarantine and isolation periods:

What Is the Difference Between Quarantine and Isolation?

A period of quarantine is for those who may have been exposed to the virus and may or may not have been infected.

A period of isolation is for those who test positive for the virus even if they do not have symptoms.

The CDC says unless fully vaccinated, someone must quarantine if they have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of someone for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.

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